Doctor Gregory A. Poland is an American physician and vaccinologist. He is the Mary Lowell Leary professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, as well as the director of the Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group. He is also the editor-in-chief of the medical journal Vaccine. Poland received his BA in biology from Illinois Wesleyan University In 1977 where he was a member of Sigma Pi fraternity. He received his MD from the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in 1981. Poland also received an MA in theology from Westminster Theological Seminary. Doctor Poland is known for researching the immunogenetics of responses to certain vaccines, including smallpox vaccines. He has also written about the negative impacts of the false claim that the MMR vaccine might cause autism, and is an outspoken advocate of mandatory influenza vaccination. After developing tinnitus after his COVID vaccination he has called for better safety studies.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is a podcast from WOR. Back now to the
WOR Saturday Morning Show with Larry MINTI.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Welcome back.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
There are some life changes you could do starting today
that will cut your risk of stroke and even dementia.
Doctor Gregory Poland, leader in vaccines and infectious diseases at
the Mayo Clinic and president of the Aitria Research Institute
in New York, explains Doctor Poland, as always, thank you
(00:30):
for your time. You're going to deal with five of these.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Huh. Yeah, as you mentioned, Larry, and this is good news.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
These are things that you can take control of to
decrease your risk of stroke by up to sixty percent, wow,
dementia by forty percent, and later life depression by thirty
five percent. And when you look at the big five,
the ones that have the most effect, it's your blood pressure,
(00:58):
your body weight, particular being obese increases those risks, your
blood sugar related to your blood pressure, your sodium intake,
and smoking. They're seventeen risk factors that we can modify.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
But those are the Big five.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
And those are things that everybody can take control of
and improve.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Yeah, and they help you with many things. I wouldn't
think it's just those I mean, you're just healthier overall.
I know that recently the Alzheimer's Association even came out
and started talking about the semaglutide drugs and they're studying
them because it can help fight Alzheimer's. And then I
(01:43):
think I talked to you about it and you said, well,
that's just the weight with the plaque on the brain.
If you lose weight, you get less plaque on the brain.
Is that right.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
It's more than that, it decreases inflammation. These drugs are
appearing to be almost mirror drugs, Larry. I mean, it
is amazing the protective effect of these drugs. And you
know you mentioned Alzheimer's. The numbers are staggering.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
In the US.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
About seven million people have Alzheimer's. That's a forty percent
increase just since twenty fifteen, and by twenty fifty the
numbers are expected to double again to fourteen million.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
So it really is important.
Speaker 4 (02:27):
And as you just pointed out, these risk factors overlap.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
It's more than stroke and dementia. It's also heart disease.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
It's also mental health, physical activity, et cetera.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
These all overlap.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
And they're just good healthy living strategies.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
I love that you called the semaglutide drugs miracle drugs
because I agree with you, and I think a lot
of people are out there saying that right now. So
why is it so darn expensive if it's so good
for us?
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah? Maybe that's why. Yeah, I know.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
The real reason is when when new drugs first come
into the market, they are the most expensive they ever
will be because the manufacturers have a limited amount of
time while they're on patent and not generic to recoup
all the development costs. So, for example, a vaccine from
(03:20):
start to being approved by the FDA in marketing costs
about one billion US dollars.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Yeah, it's a shame though, that it's so expensive right
now because, as you pointed out, it can save lives
this and go ahead.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Yeah, you're absolutely right, Larry. And you know you begin
to think, well, would an.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
Important strategy be for insurance companies or the government to
subsidize the cost of those because they make they save
money on the other end of it, Right, if you
don't have a stroke, if you don't have a heart attack,
if you don't have dementia, Well that's a lot of
savings healthcare costs, So why not make those popularly accessible.
(04:06):
And you know, as you know, it's sort of the
inverse of what you'd think. People and a lower economic
strata tend to have more risk factors than people at.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
A higher economic strata.
Speaker 4 (04:19):
A lot of reasons for that, but yeah, these are
in part systematic inequities in our system.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Well, that is brilliant and I'm behind you one thousand percent.
That is so smart for insurance companies and for everybody
to push for that. I just hope we get a
couple of politicians behind that, because then maybe it can happen.
But great idea. Doctor Gregory Poland, leader in vaccines and
infectious diseases at the Mayo Clinic and president of the
atrea Research Institute in New York. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Thank you, Larry.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
This has been a podcast from wor
This is a podcast from WOR. Back now to the
WOR Saturday Morning Show with Larry MINTI.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Welcome back.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
There are some life changes you could do starting today
that will cut your risk of stroke and even dementia.
Doctor Gregory Poland, leader in vaccines and infectious diseases at
the Mayo Clinic and president of the Aitria Research Institute
in New York, explains Doctor Poland, as always, thank you
(00:30):
for your time. You're going to deal with five of these.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Huh. Yeah, as you mentioned, Larry, and this is good news.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
These are things that you can take control of to
decrease your risk of stroke by up to sixty percent, wow,
dementia by forty percent, and later life depression by thirty
five percent. And when you look at the big five,
the ones that have the most effect, it's your blood pressure,
(00:58):
your body weight, particular being obese increases those risks, your
blood sugar related to your blood pressure, your sodium intake,
and smoking. They're seventeen risk factors that we can modify.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
But those are the Big five.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
And those are things that everybody can take control of
and improve.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Yeah, and they help you with many things. I wouldn't
think it's just those I mean, you're just healthier overall.
I know that recently the Alzheimer's Association even came out
and started talking about the semaglutide drugs and they're studying
them because it can help fight Alzheimer's. And then I
(01:43):
think I talked to you about it and you said, well,
that's just the weight with the plaque on the brain.
If you lose weight, you get less plaque on the brain.
Is that right.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
It's more than that, it decreases inflammation. These drugs are
appearing to be almost mirror drugs, Larry. I mean, it
is amazing the protective effect of these drugs. And you
know you mentioned Alzheimer's. The numbers are staggering.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
In the US.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
About seven million people have Alzheimer's. That's a forty percent
increase just since twenty fifteen, and by twenty fifty the
numbers are expected to double again to fourteen million.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
So it really is important.
Speaker 4 (02:27):
And as you just pointed out, these risk factors overlap.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
It's more than stroke and dementia. It's also heart disease.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
It's also mental health, physical activity, et cetera.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
These all overlap.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
And they're just good healthy living strategies.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
I love that you called the semaglutide drugs miracle drugs
because I agree with you, and I think a lot
of people are out there saying that right now. So
why is it so darn expensive if it's so good
for us?
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah? Maybe that's why. Yeah, I know.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
The real reason is when when new drugs first come
into the market, they are the most expensive they ever
will be because the manufacturers have a limited amount of
time while they're on patent and not generic to recoup
all the development costs. So, for example, a vaccine from
(03:20):
start to being approved by the FDA in marketing costs
about one billion US dollars.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Yeah, it's a shame though, that it's so expensive right
now because, as you pointed out, it can save lives
this and go ahead.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Yeah, you're absolutely right, Larry. And you know you begin
to think, well, would an.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
Important strategy be for insurance companies or the government to
subsidize the cost of those because they make they save
money on the other end of it, Right, if you
don't have a stroke, if you don't have a heart attack,
if you don't have dementia, Well that's a lot of
savings healthcare costs, So why not make those popularly accessible.
(04:06):
And you know, as you know, it's sort of the
inverse of what you'd think. People and a lower economic
strata tend to have more risk factors than people at.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
A higher economic strata.
Speaker 4 (04:19):
A lot of reasons for that, but yeah, these are
in part systematic inequities in our system.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Well, that is brilliant and I'm behind you one thousand percent.
That is so smart for insurance companies and for everybody
to push for that. I just hope we get a
couple of politicians behind that, because then maybe it can happen.
But great idea. Doctor Gregory Poland, leader in vaccines and
infectious diseases at the Mayo Clinic and president of the
atrea Research Institute in New York. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Thank you, Larry.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
This has been a podcast from wor
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